Tourism’s ‘golden age’ under threat, industry boss warns

A Tasmanian tourism boss says the sector must not become the state’s latest industry “whipping boy” and has hit out at partisan attempts to use tourism as a “political football”.

Tourism conference participants during a cultural awareness workshop with Jason Thomas. Picture: CHRIS KIDD

A TASMANIAN tourism leader says the sector must not become the state’s latest industry “whipping boy” and has hit out at partisan attempts to use tourism as a political football.

Tourism Industry Council Tasmania chairman Daniel Leesong will on Thursday address the Tasmanian Tourism Conference in Launceston, urging the industry not to be complacent to its politicisation, despite experiencing a “golden age”.

Mr Leesong will call out “attempts to use our industry as a political football”, days after the Liberals attributed results in the marginal northern seats of Braddon and Bass to their campaign against Labor funding promises to MONA and a Tasmanian AFL side.

LIBERALS MISLED THE NORTH, SAYS TREASURER

Tourism Industry Council Tasmania chairman Daniel Leesong. Picture: LUKE BOWDEN

“The apparently successful attempt over the past few weeks to use Mona — of all things — to divide Tasmanians is exactly what we’ve spent the last 20 years as an industry trying to avoid,” Mr Leesong said.

“As an industry we must not stand for this or we will risk the broad political and community support tourism enjoys and, in that event, we all lose.”

A cap on visitor numbers has been among the suggestions to help the state’s iconic destinations, such as Cradle Mountain and Freycinet National Park, cope with booming visitor numbers.

Mr Leesong said a visitor cap, as well as proposals for new “bed taxes”, were “crazy”.

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“Debate about the shape of our industry is healthy and important and I hope over the next 12 months we have a genuine open conversation as an industry and community about the future of tourism as we draft a new T21 Industry Strategy,” Mr Leesong will say.

“However, healthy debate is no excuse for attacking our industry and its contribution to this state or those among us who put everything on the line trying to create new tourism ventures.”

Mr Leesong will also pay tribute to the recent successes of the Tasmanian tourism sector, including high growth in visitor spending and new airline services connecting the state with Perth and Adelaide.

But he said investors “prepared to run the gauntlet of getting a project approved, then financed, then open and operating” needed to be supported and allowed to go through due process without being subjected to “trial by media”.

“We’re not saying we’re the solution to all things Tasmania, but at the same time, we want to make sure that these debates are done in a way that’s healthy and not disruptive,” he said.